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Mrs.    Rameses  at  the   Age  of  Twenty-two. 


ODE 

TO 

MRS.    RAMESES 

(NEE    ZENOLIA    AKBAR-ZELL) 

BY 

W.   E.   BROWN 


Read   before  the  San   Francisco  Sorosis 
January    3,    1898 


PRINTED    FOR 
PRIVATE    CIRCULATION 

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THE    MUKDOCK 


ODE    TO    MRS.   RAMESES. 


Dear  Mrs.  Rameses,1  you  are  looking  young, 
For  one  who  lived  so  very  long  ago; 

Have  you,  as  modern  ladies  have,  a  tongue, 
To  wag  as  rapidly,  for  weal  or  woe? 

If  such  a  tongue  you  have,  perhaps  you'll  tell, 
How  long  you  lived  with  Rameses,  as  his  wife: 

If  in  old  Karnak  you  were  thought  a  belle, 
Or  if  in  Thebes  you  led  a  merry  life. 

What  sort  of  bathing  dresses  did  you  wear, 
When  you  and  others  tried  the  winding  Nile? 

Did  men  and  women  bathe  together  there, 
And  teach  each  other  how  to  flirt  the  while? 


M93399 


4  ODE    TO    MRS.   RAMESES. 

Was  there  a  raft,  half  way  across  the  river, 

That  you  could  swim  to,  when  you  learned  to 
sw-rn? 

Did  Rameses  help  you,  when  he  saw  you  shiver, 
And  when  too  tired,  did  you  lean  on  him  ? 

How  was  the  water,  cold  or  warm  or  tepid ; 

Did  swimming  in  it  make  you  pale  or  ruddy? 
In  diving  were  you  nervous,  or  intrepid, 

And  was  the  stream,  as   now,   swift,  deep,  and 
muddy? 

In  making  parties  for  your  daily  bath, 
Before  or  after  plunging  in  the  water; 

Did  one  sweet  maiden  ever  cross  your  path  — 
A  fair  Egyptian2 — known  as  Pharaoh's3  daugh- 
ter— 

She,  who  in  wandering  by  the  river's  side, 
Among  the  lotus  blossoms,  reeds,  and  roses, 

Saw,  calmly  floating  on  the  yellow  tide,4 

That  sweet,  unconscious  waif — the  infant  Moses? 


ODE   TO    MRS.    R AMESES.  5 

And  have  you  never  wondered  why  the  Nile, 
The  secret  of  its  source  had  ne'er  unraveled  ? 

And,  as  you  floated  down  from  Philse's  isle,5 
Didst  ever  meet  Sesostris,  as  you  traveled  ? 

And  was  your  name  Zenolia/  ere  you  changed  it? 

Of  aunts  and  uncles  had  you  great  variety  ? 
And,  when  invited  out,  which  aunt  arranged  it 

To  make  your  entree  perfect  in  society  ? 

How  did  you  dress  your  hair  to  make  it  sightly? 

And,  really,  did  you  wear — this  question  lingers — 
Pray  did  you  wear  your  corsets  fastened  tightly; 

And  had  you  diamond  rings  on  all  your 
fingers? 

Who  helped  to  robe  you,  on  that  great  occasion ; 

Who  pinned  the  chemisette  upon  your  bosom, 
And  took  in  charge,  with  feminine  persuasion, 

Your  girlhood's  trinkets,  so  you  would  n't  lose 
'em? 


6  ODE   TO    MRS.   RAMESES. 

What   party    joined    you    when    you    two    were 

married  — 

Was  it  a  priest  of  Horus  or  of  Isis? 
•How  did  .you  reach  the  temple — were  you  carried 

<5n  stalwart  shoulders  at  that  lovely  crisis  ? 

Who  wore  the  richest  costumes  on  that  day? 

How  many  bridesmaids  did  you  have,  if  any? 
Did  all  the  maiden  ladies  have  their  say  ; 

And  of  rich  bridal  presents  had  you  many  ? 

And  when  dear  Rameses  took  you  in  his  arms,7 
And  placed  a  kiss  upon  your  rosy  mouth, 

Gazing  the  while  upon  your  budding  charms, 
Was  not  his  breath  like  zephyrs  from  the  south  ? 

And,  after  passing  through  the  sweet  ideal, 
You  went  to  him  unthinkingly  and  blindly  ? 

Did  all  imaginary  dreams  come  real  ? 

Did  the  old  monarch  love  and  treat  you  kindly  ? 


ODE   TO    MRS.   R AMESES.  7 

Didst  ever  follow  him  to  club  or  lodge, 

And    erstwhile    catch     him    "boozing    at     the 
nappy?"8 

Did  he  resort  to  cloves  or  other  dodge, 
And  was  your  married  life  entirely  happy  ? 

While  in  your  honeymoon,  if  you  were  sad, 
Did  he,  with  fond  caresses,  coax  and  wheedle, 

And  tap  you  on  the  cheek,  to  make  you  glad, 
Then  take  you  round  to  Cleopatra's  Needle?9 

Did  he  have  moody  turns  and  cranks  and  kinks, 
When  duty  called  him  forth  to  serve  the  nation  ? 

Did  you  go  with  him  when  they  built  the  Sphinx, 
And  laid  the  earliest  pyramid's  foundation? 

Didst  ever  happen  in  your  life  to  meet 

A  man  who  slept  all  night  on  Pompey's  Pillar?9 
Was  Rameses'  head  quite  large,  and  small  his  feet? 

Was  he  in  any  sense  a  woman-killer? 


8  ODE    TO    MRS.   RAMESES. 

Didst  ever  hear  at  Thebes  the  sad  refrains10 
At  early  sunrise,  in  that  lonely  place, 

Where  Memnon's  statue  gave  eolian  strains 
As  bright  Aurora  smiled  upon  its  face? 

Was  Rameses  full  of  fun,  or,  like  asbestos, 

Proof  against  fire  —  that  sentiment  that  gushes  ; 

Or   did    he   place,  just   where   you    clasp'd   your 
cestus, 
His  manly  arm,  and  hug  you  spite  of  blushes? 

Had  he  mean  traits  or  liberal  ideas  ? 

Was  he  devoted  to  his  gods  or  mammon  ? 
Did  he  go  with  you  to  the  temple  seers, 

And  worship  with  you  at  the  shrine  of  Amun  ? 

Did  he  caress  your  eyelids  and  your  hair, 
Invoke  the  gods  to  save  you  from  all  harm, 

Put  costly  rings  upon  your  fingers  fair, 
And  brilliant  amulets  around  your  arm  ? 


ODE   TO    MRS.    RAMESES.  9 

How  strange  that  millions  in  your  native  land, 
Between  the  Lybian  Desert  and  the  Isthmus, 

Had  never  heard  a  genuine  brass  band, 

Or  never  known  the  dear  delights  of  Christmas  ! 

And,  when  a  loving  tribute  you  would  write, 

You   had   no    ' '  cream    laid    note, ' '     but    plain 
papyrus; 

No  fringed  and  lettered  cards,  in  blue  and  white,11 
To  celebrate  the  birthday  of  Osiris. 

How  did  you  live  'mong  those  benighted  scenes 
Without  your  novels  and  your  morning  journals, 

Your  evening  papers,  monthly  magazines, 

Your  majors,  captains,  generals,  and  colonels? 

You  had  no  Worth  nor  Redfern  to  adorn  you  ; 

No  Lubin  scents  for  delicate  olfactories; 
Your  priest  would  doubtless  humble  you  and  scorn 
you 

If  you  wore  colors  bright  in  your  phylacteries.12 


io  ODE   TO    MRS.   R AMESES. 

You  had  no  Paris  slippers,  bronze  or  brown  ; 

No  Lyons  silks,   or  laces  rare  from  Brussels; 
And  all  Egyptian  pictures  handed  down, 

Would  indicate  an  ignorance  of  bustles. 

You  had  no  striped  stockings,  silk  or  Lisle; 

No  patent  fasteners,  for  wife  or  spinster; 
No  panniers,  peplums,  of  the  latest  style; 

Nor  Persian  rugs,  nor  carpets  of  Axminster. 

What  was  the  ill  that  ended  your  young  life? 

Did  serious  troubles  take  you  unawares? 
Three  thousand  years  have  passed,  of  endless  strife, 

Since  you,  dear  lady,  climbed  the  golden  stairs. 

You  once  were  young,  and  full  of  life  and  vigor, 
And  had  pet  names  —  Trix,  Birdie,  Topsey; 

The  doctors  must  have  treated  you  with  rigor; — 
What   did   you    die    of — measles,    mumps,    or 
dropsy  ? 


ODE    TO    MRS.   R AMESES.  u 

When  death  approached  with  swift  and  stealthy 
feet, 

What  kind  of  nervine  did  they  give  to  calm  you? 
Were  grim  officials  waiting  down  the  street, 

With  essences13  and  spices,  to  embalm  you  ? 

Have  thirty  centuries  passed  since  you  were  drawn 
From  your  home  circle  to  become  a  mummy? 

How  do  you  like,  as  far  as  you  have  gone, 
Being,  so  long,  a  woman  and  a  dummy? 

In  whatsoever  clime  you  now  sojourn, 
A  few  more  centuries  you'd  better  go  it; 

You'll  be  much  happier  there,  than  to  return 
To  your  old  home — I '  ve  been  there  and  I  know  it. 

Where  erst  you  saw  grave  priests  and  acolytes 
In  grand  procession  M  wind  along  the  street, 

With  goats  and  calves15  for  sacrificial  rites,16 

And  sacred  bulls,17  to  make  those  rites  complete; 


12  ODE   TO    MRS.   R AMESES. 

Where  once  you  saw  the  olive  branches  wave, 
And  smoking  incense18  rise  from  heated  censer; 

And  heard  the  ringing  sistrum,19  as  it  gave 
Music  that  grew  from  minor  tones  intenser; 

Where  wandering  minstrels  used  to  pause  and  sing, 

And  pious  sages  passed  from  door  to  door, 
Whose   fathers-0    knew,  perchance,  great    Israel's 
king,21 
And  whose  grandfathers  might  have  talked  with 
Noah;" 

Among  those  giant  statues,  seated  there, 

Where  Thebes  unfolded  all  its  pride  and  glory; 

Among  colossal  sphinxes,  pillars,  where 
Deep-graven  characters  reveal  their  story ; 

Around  the  temple  that  your  husband  plan'd, 
Begirt  with  many  a  proud  and  stately  column  ; 

'Neath  propylon,  magnificent  and  grand, 

Where  crowds  assembled,  dignified  and  solemn. 


ODE    TO    MRS.   R AMESES.  13 

To  celebrate  the  funeral  of  a  prince — 28 
To  join  the  mournful  phalanx,  moving  by 

To  that  necropolis,  where,  ages  since, 
The  buried  patriarchs  of  Egypt  lie;  — 

Were  you  inclined  to  visit  earth  again, 

To  walk  among  the  scenes  you  knew  so  well, 

No  tender  note  would  wake  a  gentle  strain  — 
No  mournful  cadence  would  your  sorrow  tell. 

There,   'mong   those   very   scenes,    you    now   will 
hear 

A  fife  and  tambour,2*  not  at  all  melodious, 
Mark  time  for  dancing  girls,'23  whose  charms  appear, 

Descended  from  the  daughter  of  Herodias. 

By  those  stupendous  ruins  you  would  see 

A  cockney  group  from  one  of  Cook's  excursions, 

With  mad'ning  jest  and  sacrilegious  glee, 

Talk  of  Cambyces  and  his  conquering  Persians. 


1 4  ODE    TO    MRS.   R AMESES. 


These  English  tourists,  Baedeker  in  hand, 
Their  outing  more  a  toil  than  recreation, 

Climb  massive  ruins,  wade  through  burning  sand, 
Doing  the  Nile  in  sixty  days'  vacation. 

Picnicking  in  the  shade  of  frowning  walls, 
Pregnant  with  memories  of  historic  scenes, — 

Their  dragoman  now  lifts  his  voice  and  calls, 

To  lunch26  on    beef,    canned  oysters,    and   sar- 
dines. 

The  picnic  over,  and  the  day  still  young, 
These  London  snobs  proceed,  as  idiots  do, 

To  trace  their  names  and  residence  among 
The  granite  scrolls  of  Medineet  Haboo.27 

'Mong  battle  scenes,  in  deep  intaglios  graved 
On  lordly  pile  or  massive  monolith, 

These  fools  will  bless  the  elements  that  saved 
A  little  space  for  Thompson,  Jones,  or  Smith. 


ODE    TO    MRS.   R AMESES.  15 

Close  to  those  symbols  of  a  royal  line, 

Which  forty  centuries  haven't  mar'd  or  undone, 

A  vandal  scribe  will  write  a  verse  and  sign 

His  autograph —  "  George  Edward  Cox,  of  Lon- 
don."28 

And  Edward  Cox  will  feel  a  glowing  pride, 
As,  with  a  hideous  art,  he  thus  defaces, 

With  misspelt  words  and  verses  misapplied, 
The  mural  monograms  of  kingly  races. 

And,  when  the  lovely  April  day  is  done. 
And  twilight  lingers  in  a  haze  of  glory, 

The  donkey-boys  will  gather,  one  by  one; — 

Backsheesh!  their  first,  and  last,  and  only  story. 

Then  you  will  see  the  motley  crew  en  route, 

Through  fertile  fields  —  a  concourse  quaint  and 
straggling,— 
Each  mounted  on  an  ill-fed,  long-eared  brute, 
Their    puggeries     flying,     and     their     tongues 
awaggling. 


1 6  ODE    TO    MA'S.   J? AMESES. 

Such  scenes  as  these  would  wring  your  aching  heart, 
Should  you  unwind  those  mummy  cloths  and 
cerements, 

And  come  once  more  on  earth  to  act  a  part, 

And  try  to  win  once  more  life's  sweet  endearments. 

Stay  where  you  are,  and  be  contented  there, 

In  your  long  sleep,  wrapped   up   in  gums  and 
ointments; 

Your  life  renewed  would  bring  unending  care, 
Mortal  regrets,  and  mundane  disappointments. 

Such  living  years  as  you  would  pass  on  earth 
Would  bring  to  royal  minds  like  yours  satiety; 

And,  at  an  early  day,  you'd  find  a  dearth 
Of  happiness  in  what  is  called  society. 

On  this  terrestrial  sphere  its  devotees, 

Pass  endless  days  in  crinoline  and  bodices; 

While  in  those  upper  realms  of  rest  and  ease, 
You  are  at  home  with  first-class  gods  and  god- 
desses. 


ODE    TO    MRS.   RAMESES. 

No  morning  calls  or  evening  toilets  there; 

No  social  duties  to  perform,  as  you  know, 
But  in  fair  robes  —  diaphanous  as  fair — 

You  can  hob-nob  with  Jupiter  and  Juno. 

If  in  Bohemian  circles  you  would  shine, 

Where  artists  gather,  with  their  wiles  insidious, 

You  join  the  revels  at  Aspasia's  shrine, 

And  meet,  perchance,  Praxitiles  and  Phidias; 

Or  hear  another,  and  a  livelier  crowd, 

Presided  o'er  by  Bacchus,  with  his  bottle, 

Discuss  in  accents,  laughable  and  loud, 
The  sage  philosophy  of  Aristotle. 

If  literary  spirits  you  would  meet, 

You  now  are  doubtless  breathing  sweet  aroma 
Among  celestial  salons,  where  you  greet 

The  devotees  of  Hesiod  and  Homer. 


r7 


1 8  ODE   TO    MRS.   R AMESES. 

If  musical,  you  go  to  matinees 

With  all  the  loving  worshipers  that  follow, 
And  gather  in,  through  bright  melodious  lays, 

Th'  entrancing  strains  of  Orpheus  and  Apollo. 

Therefore,  dear  madam,  do  not  ask  for  change, 
But  in  that  pagan  resting  place  continue; 

Through  spheres  Olympian  you  can  freely  range, 
And  cultivate  the  modest  grace  that's  in  you. 


NOTES 


Rameses  II.  reigned  sixty-six  years,  from  1407 
to  1341  B.  C.  Moses  was  born  1401  B.  C;  there- 
fore, Mrs.  Rameses  may  have  met  the  lady  who 
was  fortunate  enough  to  discover  the  precious 
infant. — See  Biblical  Monuments,  page  16. 

The  Kings  of  Egypt  were  called  Pharaoh  for  a 
period  of  1300  years. — Josephus,  page  251. 


4.     "So  the  sad  mother,  at  the  noon  of  night, 

From  bloody  Memphis  stole  her  silent  flight ; 
With  dauntless  steps  she  seeks  the  winding  shore, 
Hears  unappalled  the  glimmering  torrents  roar; 
With  paper  flags  a  floating  cradle  weaves, 
And  hides  the  smiling  boy  in  lotus  leaves; 
Gives  her  white  bosom  to  his  eager  lips, 
The  salt  tears  mingling  with  the  milk  he  sips;  — 


2o  ODE   TO    MRS.   RAMESES. 

Waits  on  the  reed-crowned  brink  with  pious  guile, 
And  trusts  the  scaly  monsters  of  the  Nile." 

— Dr.    Erasmus  Darwin's   Poem   on  Moses: 
Chambers'  Encyclopedia,  Vol.  II.,  page  270. 

5.  "On  the  20th  March,  1875,  we  floated  down  from 
Philae's  isle,  enjoying  a  day  of  tranquil  repose." 

—Notes  on  the  Nile,  by  W.  E.  B. 

6.  Zenolia  Rameses. — In  all  works  upon  Egypt, 
there  is  but  little  written  about  the  women  of  that 
ancient  country.  Their  names,  their  lineage,  their 
family  associations  are  seldom  mentioned. — Notes 
on  the  Nile,  by  IV.  E  B. 

7.  Rameses'  wife  was  of  small  stature. — See  Bibli- 
cal Monuments,  page  n. 

Rameses  was  doubtless  married  at  Karnak,  as 
that  magnificent  temple  was  built  in  honor  of  the 
god  Amun,  and  Amun  was  the  deity  most  rever- 
enced at  Thebes.  The  Hall  of  Columns  in  this 
temple  is  the  grandest  of  all  the  grand  ruins  of  the 
Nile  valley.  There  are  134  massive  monoliths,  that 
show  in  their  well-preserved  grandeur  the  vast 
extent  of  this  wonderful  room. — Uarda,  Vol.  I., 
pages  6,  113,  244. 


NOTES.  21 

8.  "  While  we  sit  boozing  at  the  nappy, 

Nae  getting  fou,  but  unco  happy." 

— Burns'  Tarn  O 'Shanter. 

9.  Anachronisms  are  pardonable  in  verses  like  these. 
Mrs.  Rameses  had  been  dead  about  200  years 
when  Pompey's  Pillar  and  Cleopatra's  Needle 
were  set  up. 

10.  "  There  can  be  but  little  doubt  that  the  super- 
natural voice  that  was  said  to  come  from  Memnon's 
statue  at  sunrise,  was  a  delusion  practiced  by  the 
priests.  There  is  a  stone  in  the  lap  of  the  statue, 
and  behind  it  is  a  niche,  where  a  person  could  be 
entirely  concealed  from  the  view  of  the  crowd 
below." — See  Knox's  Life  in  the  Orient,  page  596. 

It  is  a  weird  romance,  and  interesting  to  the 
tourist;  but  Knox  destroys  it  in  a  burst  of  icono- 
clastic rapture. —  IV.  E.  B. 

11.  But  a  few  years  since  no  Christmas  card  was 
thought  to  be  complete  unless  it  was  fringed  and 
tasseled  with  a  tawdry  imitation  of  silk. —  IV.  E.  B. 

12.  Phylacteries  were  little  boxes  or  rolls  of  parch- 
ment worn  by  the  Jews  upon  their  foreheads.  As 
worn  by  the  Egyptians,  they  were  made  of  leather, 


22  ODE    TO    MRS.    R AMESES. 

being  worn  around  the  neck  or  on  their  wrists. 
Sometimes  they  were  used  to  ornament  the  hems 
of  their  garments.  Those  who  were  proud  and 
self-conceited  wore  them  broader  than  their  associ- 
ates. Some  used  ribbons  and  fringes  to  make 
themselves  more  attractive. 

In  the  Book  of  Numbers,  chap.  15,  verse  38, 
these  phylacteries  are  alluded  to:  "  Speak  unto  the 
children  of  Israel,  and  bid  them  that  they  make 
them  fringes  in  the  borders  of  their  garments,  .  .  . 
and  that  they  put  upon  the  fringe  of  the  borders  a 
ribband  of  blue." 

Evidence  of  the  vanity  of  the  wearers  of  these 
dressy  adjuncts  is  found  in  Matthew,  chap.  23, 
verse  5:  "  But  all  their  works  they  do  for  to  be  seen 
of  men;  they  make  broad  their  phylacteries,  and 
enlarge  the  borders  of  their  garments." 

13.  "With  essences  and  spices  to  embalm  you." — 
There  were  manufactories  of  essences  to  be  used 
in  the  process  of  embalming.—  Uarda,  Vol.  I., 
page  8. 

14.  "  In  grand  procession." — Many  a  gaily  dressed 
barque  stopped  at  the  shore;  there  there  was  no 


NOTES. 


23 


lack  of  minstrel  bands;  grand  processions  passed  on 
to  the  western  heights.  —  Uarda,  Vol.  I.,  page  7. 

15.  The  male  kine,  therefore,  if  clean,  and  the  male 
calves,  are  used  for  sacrifice  by  the  Egyptians  uni- 
versally; but  the  female  they  are  not  allowed  to 
sacrifice.—  Herodotus,  Vol.  II.,  page  62. 

16.  "Sacrifical  rites." — Calves,  gazelles,  geese,  and 
other  fowls,  were  fed  in  enclosed  meadow  plats, 
and  funeral  mourners  betook  themselves  thither  to 
select  what  they  needed  from  among  the  beasts 
pronounced  by  the  priests  to  be  clean  for  the  sacri- 
fice.—  Uarda,  Vol.  I.,  pages  8,  9. 

17.  Apis,  the  sacred  bull,  had  a  festival  in  his  honor, 
which  lasted  seven  days,  on  which  occasion  a  large 
concourse  of  people  assembled  at  Memphis.  The 
priests  then  led  the  sacred  bull  in  solemn  proces- 
sion.—  Wilkinson's  Ancient  Egyptians,  Vol.  I.,  page 
291. 

18.  "  Smoking  incense  "  rising  from  a  heated  censer 
is  illustrated  by  a  picture  in  Wilkinson's  work, 
Vol.  I.,  page  130. 

"  In  offering  incense,  the  king  held  in  one  hand 


24  ODE   TO    MRS.   RAMESES. 

the  censer,  and  with  the  other  threw  balls  or  pas- 
tilles of  incense  into  the  flame."—  Wilkinson,  Vol.  I., 
page  265. 

19.  For  description  and  picture  of  the  sistrum,  see 
Wilkinson,  Vol.  I.,  pages  132,  133;  and  for  the 
method  of  its  use,  see  note  on  page  no,  of  Vol.  I.,  of 
Uarda. 

Those  who  played  at  the  houses  of  the  rich,  as 
well  as  the  ambulant  musicians  of  the  streets,  were 
of  the  lower  classes,  and  made  this  employment  the 
means  of  obtaining  their  livelihood. —  Wilkinson, 
Vol.  I.,  page  94. 

20.  In  the  year  2230  B.  C,  there  were  men  alive  who 
could  recollect  the  Deluge. — Biblical  Monuments,  by 
Dr.  William  Harris  Rule,  page  30. 

21.  Vast  numbers  of  the  children  of  Israel  would 
necessarily  be  among  the  inhabitants  of  the  cities 
thus  ceded  to  the  dominion  or  protectorate  of 
Sesostris. — Osburn's  Monumental  History  of  Egypt, 
Vol.  II.,  page  440. 

22.  Abraham  was  in  Egypt  from  1901  B.  C.  to  1855 
B.  C— Biblical  Monuments,  page  16. 

"And  whose  grandfathers  might  have  talked  with 


NOTES. 


25 


Noah." — Authorities  differ  widely  as  to  the  date  of 
the  Deluge. 

Kitto's  Palestine makes  it  3246  B.  C. 


Jackson 

Hales 

R.  Stewart  Poole 

Osburn  (already  quoted) . 

Playfair 

Ussher 

Smith's  Bible  Dictionary . 


3170 

3155 
3129 
2500 

2351 
2340 
2327 


If  others  made  it  still  later,  the  great-grandfathers 
of  Mrs.  Rameses'  time  might  easily  have  been 
acquainted  with  Noah. 

23.  "Of  the  magnificent  pomp  of  a  royal  funeral  in 
the  time  of  the  Pharaohs,  no  adequate  idea  can  be 
formed  from  the  processions  represented  in  the 
tombs  of  ordinary  individuals." — Wilkinson,  Vol. 
II.,  page  366. 

Then  follows  an  interesting  description  of  the 
funerals  of  persons  high  in  rank,  and  also  of  those 
of  citizens  of  other  grades  in  the  social  world  of 
Ancient  Egypt. 

24.  In  Furniss'  Waraga,  or  Charms  of  the  Nile,  the 
dancing  girls  of  the  Nile  valley  are  described  as 
wearing  a  thin  gauze  chemise,  open  to  the  waist, 


26  ODE    TO    MRS.   RAMESES. 

their  steps  keeping  time  to  music  furnished  by  the 
performers  of  the  tambourine  and  fife.  —  See 
JVaraga,  page  203. 

25.  On  the  10th  of  March,  1875,  we  were  entertained 
at  Keneh  by  a  band  of  Ghawazes,  or  dancing  girls, 
with  costumes  such  as  are  described  by  Furniss, 
and  if  the  daughter  of  Herodias  was  no  more  beauti- 
ful than  they  were,  the  power  she  had  to  compel 
Herod  to  commit  an  awful  crime  for  her  sake  is 
past  comprehension. — Nile  Notes  of  W.  E.  B. 

26.  Lunch  among  the  Tombs. — "We  took  lunch 
one  day  in  the  entrance  of  a  tomb  which  was  once 
the  post  mortem  house  of  Rameses  III.  Did  the 
old  fellow  ever  suspect  that  a  party  of  travelers 
would,  in  the  present  century,  devour  cold  chicken 
and  ham  sandwiches,  and  smoke  cigars  and  pipes 
and  cigarettes    at    his    door."— Knox's    Life  and 

Adventures  in  the  Orient,  page  597. 

On  the  15th  of  March,  1875,  we  left  El  Uxor  early 
in  the  morning  to  spend  the  day  in  an  excursion 
across  the  river.  The  gentle  south  wind  that  swelled 
the  sails  of  the  passing  dahabiehs  cooled  the  air  as 
we  crossed.     We  took  donkeys  on  the  other  side, 


NOTES. 


27 


and  were  soon  winding  our  way  through  the  wheat 
fields,  and  around  the  base  of  the  sitting  statue  of 
Memnon  and  his  colossal  companion.  When  we 
reached  the  temples,  all  were  tired,  and,  before 
climbing  about  the  ruins,  we  sat  down  upon  the 
historic  fragments  to  partake  of  a  lunch  prepared 
by  our  dragoman.  There,  among  those  vast  colon- 
nades and  sculptured  walls,  our  noonday  meal  was 
spread;  it  seemed  a  desecration  to  be  feasting  there 
upon  chicken,  sardines  and  oysters. — Nile  Notes, 
by  IV.  E.  B. 

27.  Doctor  Furniss,  in  his  interesting  book,  Waraga,  or 
Charms  of  the  Nile,  on  page  227,  says  of  the  temple 
of  Medineet  Haboo:  "The  chief  attractions  in  this 
temple-palace  are  the  elegant  apartments  of  the 
king,  which  are  distributed  on  either  side  of  the 
lodges  that  are  placed  at  the  entrance  adjoining  the 
smaller  temple." 

28.  While  at  lunch  in  front  of  the  temple  of  Medineet 
Haboo,  a  gang  of  excursionists  were  lunching  near 
us;  one  of  their  number,  whom  we  afterward 
learned  was  a  London  shoemaker,  had  climbed  to 
a  lofty  entablature,  and  with  a  bit  of  charcoaljhad 


28 


ODE    TO    MRS.   RAMESES. 


inscribed  his  name.  After  he  left,  we  discovered 
with  a  field  glass,  among  the  deepest  and  clearest 
cutintaglios,  these  words:  "  Edward  Cox,  London." 
—Nile  Notes,  by  W.  E.  B. 


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